Lockdown

A grieving woman believes her father would still be alive today if not for Boris Johnson's lockdown dithering. Jo Goodman thinks her dad Stuart caught coronavirus while waiting for a cancer appointment in Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital on March 18 last year. The 72-year-old died from coronavirus on April 2 - just over a week after the PM announced a lockdown in England. A parliamentary report has now slammed the Government for waiting until March 23 to order a shutdown. Experts claim Mr Johnson could have saved at least 20,000 lives in the first wave by announcing a lockdown one week earlier. Jo, 33, told The Mirror her dad was diagnosed with aggressive Non-Hodgkin lymphoma on the same day she believes he contracted Covid. And due to her dad's general underlying health conditions she was "terrified" throughout the whole of March he would get the virus and "wanted to wrap him up in a giant ball of cotton wool". Have you been affected by the Government's …

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The world is in no mood to pop champagne corks under confinement, according to makers of French bubbly, who predict a plunge of up to 75 per cent in the sale of bottles of fizz in the second quarter due to the global coronavirus lockdown. In France, winegrowers of all regions are lamenting plummeting sales as bars and hotels remain shut and export markets, notably China, have shut borders and stopped orders. But champagne, the quintessentially festive drink, is the hardest hit of all. “As soon as confinement started (on March 17), we saw a brutal halt in champagne consumption because it's a festive drink. When you no longer want to party, you no longer want champagne. The corks stop popping," said Maxime Toubart, president of the main Champagne winemakers' syndicate. “The sale of (champagne) bottles is heading to fall up to 75 per cent in the second quarter," he told the Telegraph. While beer and cider have seen sales increase slightly since confinement started in France …

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Jacqueline Jossa and Dan Osborne have ‘split’, it has been reported. The EastEnders actress, 27, and Towie star, 28, tied the knot back in 2017, and share daughters Ella and Mia together. According to reports, they have now called time on their relationship, with Jacqueline thought to have moved in with her parents after lockdown ‘magnified’ problems in their marriage. However, a source revealed they are planning to ‘reassess’ their relationship once lockdown is lifted. The insider claimed: ‘They’ve taken the very difficult decision to take a break from one another. ‘They also didn’t want the kids to see them bickering. They plan to reassess everything once the coronavirus madness is over. ‘There was no third party involved,’ they added to the Sun on Sunday . ‘Jacqueline simply needed to prioritise her mental health. By splitting short-term, she hopes to save their relationship long-term.’ Jacqueline and Dan have not addressed the split rumours publicly. …

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Published 21 May Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics Coronavirus pandemic Failures in communication and the interpretation of Covid-19 advice for ferry crew members contributed to the Isle of Man's third lockdown, a report has revealed. The March lockdown came after an outbreak stemming from an Isle of Man Steam Packet Company (IOMSPC) worker . At its peak, there were 881 active cases, and four people died. Chief Minister Howard Quayle said the report showed the government "didn't get everything right". The document was commissioned after differing views were expressed by IOMSPC bosses and government over what action crew members should have been taking. The report found while director of public health Henrietta Ewart wanted all staff to self-isolate when not on shift, the relevant documentation had not been issued by the Cabinet Office for …

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Cafe bar group Loungers has said it plans to open 10 new sites by the end of its financial year in April as the company hailed a strong rebound in customer demand. Shares in the AIM-listed hospitality business rose after it reported that sales since reopening were significantly beyond pre-pandemic levels. The group, which runs 150 independently named Lounge sites and 31 Cosy club restaurant-bars, said it has significantly outperformed the wider market since reopening venues indoors on May 17. It reported that like-for-like sales jumped by 26.6% over the 20 weeks to October 3, against the comparable period in 2019. Loungers said this was boosted by the VAT reduction for food and soft drinks but said its has seen continued “strength” in its performance despite the tax subsidy being relaxed. The group said it plans to open 10 further sites over the rest of the financial year as it continues its ambitious growth plans. Loungers said before the pandemic that it …

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Nineteen months after the first lockdown began, Vanessa Ezeh is still fearful of stepping into her own garden. She is fearful of going for walks. Sometimes, she refuses to allow her siblings to enter her room or touch her things. Once a sunny personality, she is now withdrawn and stays in her bedroom a lot. These are, for the 17-year-old who has needed to shield throughout the pandemic because of serious physical health conditions, the lasting effects of constant anxiety about Covid-19, plus isolation, on her mental health. ‘“She was always so outgoing, a whole ball of joy,” explains her mum Bukie Adebola-Ezeh, 44, emotion catching in her voice. She talks fast, in a whir of worry, trying to make sense of it all. “But she still won’t go for a walk, we have a back garden but she is even frightened of going in there. “She is not talking to anyone outside the family, and she sits in her room and plays on her own. She has withdrawn. Have you struggled with your mental health …

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Lava flow from a volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma has hit a cement factory and industrial estate. Between 700 and 800 residents have been evacuated from Los Llanos de Aridane due to the northwest advance of the lava. Authorities have been monitoring a stream of molten rock that has set buildings near the cement factory ablaze. Up to 3,000 residents had been ordered to stay indoors over fresh fears of toxic gases, but the lockdown has now been lifted. Ángel Morcuende, technical director of the Canary Islands Volcanic Emergency Plan, confirmed on Tuesday that the smoke cloud had passed and residents could leave their homes. La Cumbre Vieja volcano began erupting on September 19, forcing 6,000 people from their homes on the Spanish Canary Islands. Over 1,100 buildings have so far been destroyed by lava, as well as nearly 600 hectares of land. La Palma volcano: Ash cloud forces new airport shutdown on Spanish island La Palma: New lava streams …

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Published 39 minutes ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics Coronavirus pandemic A Cornish school is moving hundreds of pupils back to remote learning for a week as it battles high numbers of Covid cases. Camborne Science and International Academy said it is experiencing "significant Covid-related absences" from students and staff. In a statement the school said it had "not been an easy decision" to make. The Department for Education told the BBC that "face-to-face education should be prioritised". It added that schools should "reintroduce temporary additional measures such as increased testing or face coverings". In a letter sent home to parents, the academy has asked students in years 8 and 9 to complete their lessons remotely in the week before the October half-term. "Parents, carers and students have been advised well in advance in …

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Published 4 November 2020 Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics Coronavirus pandemic Clarks, one of the UK's oldest shoe chains, has been rescued in a £100m investment deal. The money is being invested by the Hong Kong-based private equity firm LionRock Capital. As part of the deal, Clarks - which has 320 shops across the UK - will enter a form of administration known as a company voluntary agreement (CVA). The company said the agreement meant no shops would be permanently shut and no jobs would be lost. Like many retailers Somerset-based Clarks has struggled this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The CVA means landlords will have to accept a percentage of a shop's revenue for their rent instead of relying on a fixed lease. Clarks first began making shoes in Street 195 years ago. Philip de Klerk, interim finance chief at …

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He’s the president of one of the most notorious outlaw motorcycle gangs and is deemed a security risk by prison bosses, but the family of Jim Thacker say he still has rights and keeping him in solitary confinement is inhumane. National Correspondent Tony Wall reports as part of his investigation into segregation in prisons. Jim Thacker wakes in the mornings to the sound of a mass killer talking to himself. Thacker, president of the Mongols Motorcycle Club, is being held in a high-security segregation unit at Auckland Prison in a cell next to the terrorist who slaughtered 51 people in the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks. “When he first got into that unit next to [the terrorist] he reckons he was bragging about all the people he’d killed. It was f...ing with him,” a relative says. Despite his fearsome reputation, Thacker, who was deported from Australia in 2018 on character grounds, has never served jail time before and has yet to be convicted of the crimes he’s accused of. …

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